Meanwhile at Casino Royale Adelaide

So is it, Nasser getting one in the eye from an Ambrose bouncer or Le Chiffre not sure whether to use his winnings from Casino Royale for an England night out?

Let's try and make it to lunch ....

It's a Sunday night, so I think getting to lunch (that's 2:30 in the morning) is gonna be difficult, my stomach feels extremely confused by all this .... Tea at 4:00am? Insomniacs might not mind, but Monday mornings are bad enough without inflicting more .... but it's all in a good cause. Anyway England have resumed against the Ausy batsman - 319 for 5 in reply. Lets get Gilchrist out and I can get a good night's sleep.

Our first wicket.... Hoggard does it

Time for that.. er apparently once great batsman Hayden ... to depart for another measley score.. So 35 for 2... it's going to be a great evening... even Michael has been bearable...

We have lift off!!

Just like a Pieto slog into the stands, we have gone into the stratosphere and connected to the world of satellitte / cable / multiple channel whatever else you might want to call it... And to match the occasion England are on top. Two days played and England - 551 for 6 dec. - Australia 28 for 1. But Adelaide is a good batting strip and after the previous bowling performance, we are going to have to excel. But enough of Sky's bureaucracy and Radio 4 commentary, we now have Mike Atherton's wisdom and ad breaks every over, every wicket, and every four or any other possible moment. You've gotta sell out to get anywhere in this world. It's over to you Michael.....

Still hanging in there

Well we still ain't got no Sky in our living room, it is due to be installed today, but England are holding on and I am still optimistic that we might get to watch some live action this test match. But we have good old beeb to help us out, and of course the brilliantly honest Geoff Boycott to tell England how it is... So after 3 days of being pounded into dust by the Aussies, Pieterson and Collingwood have taken us into the final day... Let the Aussies get the previous defeat out of their system, then we can move on.. There is no way that the rest of the series will be as one sided. We only need to draw this series remember to retain the Ashes.

Test Match Series: Australia v England23-11-2006 at Brisbane, Day 4 of 5
Close
Australia won the toss and decided to bat
Australia 1st Innings
602 for 9 (155.0 overs)
Australia 2nd Innings
202 for 1 (45.1 overs)
England 1st Innings
157 all out (61.1 overs)
England 2nd Innings
293 for 5 (80.0 overs)

First day blues all round

So still no Sky and relying on trusty radio 4, but thankfully I didn't miss the Harmo hat-trick, in fact seem to have put the kiss of death on him as England (and him especially) got whacked all over Brisbane. The Gabba was where Beefy kicked off our last Ashes win with 138, so despite the first day pain I still think his cricketing heir Fred can put us back on track. I am absolutely convinced beyond any doubt that once Sky is installed in our living room, England will be back on top..

FIRST TEST, BRISBANE, DAY ONE (close):

Australia won the toss and decided to bat

346 for 3 (90.0 overs)
Australia 1st Innings

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/latest_scorecard/default.stm

Disaster strikes in Ashes preparations!

No Freddie hasn't pulled a hamstring, nor has Geraint broken a finger, but Sky have failed to turn up and install their 250 channels in our living room! The excuse that their van broke down, or the £10 voucher are simply not good enough. For all the billions in revenue they receive or the massive advertising campaigns, they seem no better than any other utility or phone company. Well it's early days and teething problems do happen, but if we miss a first day Aussie collapse including a Harmo hat-trick then this blog shall wage a vicious campaign against Murdoch and his cadre..... Well anyway, the other Barmy Army out in Oz are a real demographic mix it seems, young professionals and chippies - http://sport.guardian.co.uk/ashes2006-07/story/0,,1953729,00.html - our house may not be quite as diverse (well there's barely one professional), but it is equally dedicated to England retaining the Ashes regardless of Sky's efforts.

Meanwhile some other cricket.....

....is taking place in Pakistan, where the definitive one man team Brian Lara was ripping apart the Pakistani bowling. Scoring 100 before lunch, a century off 77 balls and ending on 196 not out, Brian further lays his claim to being the greatest ever batsman, well he has the most runs at least. Whenever Lara gets runs, he normally gets loads, witness triple and quadruple hundreds against England. I actually thought he'd retired but he'll probably go on to break one of his own records again in the next few days..... anyway back to the main event.

3 days to go...

Welcome to this new blog!

Three days to go until the start of the 2006/7 Ashes and two days until Sky is installed in our living room. With all the timing of a David Gower cover drive, we are well set for the oldest battle of sporting battles, the rivalry to end all. My prediction is 2:1 England again, but this will be down to some freak injuries and very dodgy umpire decisions, with some unpredictable pitch invasions and contraversy along the way. So it will all be documented here in this blog. Every ball bowled, every stat mindlessly analysed, every can of fosters relished, and every dull bit of Michael Atherton commentary yawned at..... Stay tuned.